What the Spurs and Jazz said after Saturday’s game

Here’s a quick look at some locker-room comments from the Spurs and Jazz from the kind folks of the Spurs media services office, most of whom had parties to go to and New Year’s revelery planned after Saturday’s game.

Still, they provided these quotes. All of Spurs Nation is grateful for their dedication and diligence.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich:

(Was this a good comeback after the loss at Houston on Thursday?)

“Thursday’s gone. We’re not going to worry about that. I thought we played pretty solid defense. They had a bad night shooting also. They’re a better shooting team than what they displayed tonight, so we were fortunate in that regard. We did play aggressively defensively. We tried to hit the boards better in the second half than we did in the first half. The competitiveness was good.”

(On Manu Ginobili being almost perfect in his 3-pointers.)

“We were really fortunate in the first half to get that lead and it was mainly because of three’s. We didn’t do anything that well, paint wise or inside out wise. We just lived on the perimeter. We did that in Houston and lost by 20. We need to have a little bit more varied game, so to speak.”

(When asked about his 800th victory, does it mean anything to him?)

When asked about his 800th victory, does it mean anything to him?)

“I don’t feel as old as you look (laughing), but other than that. When you get that number of wins, it does mean you’ve been hanging around for awhile and you’ve got a good staff, good players and a good management team. So, we’ve all achieved 800 wins. I haven’t really.”

(On Kawhi Leonard’s hustle)

“Kawhi’s a blue collar player. That’s his strength right now. Playing “d”, going to the boards and getting loose balls. That’s what we expect him to do.”

Spurs guard James Anderson

(On passing the ball around and getting the offense moving)

“Any time we can move the ball and everyone gets a piece of it and keep moving the offense, we’re always get something good. It worked out for us tonight. A couple of guys hit some shots and just went from there .”

(On getting comfortable in the offense…)

“First off, I’m trying to be aggressive on both ends. I try and get my confidence going, starting on the defensive end. I try to get a stop and make plays on that end and just run the floor hard. I’ve been getting some good looks by the running the floor. Anytime you can get a stop on the defensive end, and run the floor hard and get a easy bucket, it always changes the game.”

(On the team’s defense…)

“I thought the team played good defense tonight. We got some key stops and we streamed out lot of them in a row. Anytime we can do that and get aggressive on the defensive end and throw the first punch is good.”

Spurs forward Richard Jefferson

(On the young players getting playing time…)

“It’s a great opportunity for the young guys to extra time on the court.”

(Thoughts on four games of the season…)

“The best thing about being here with this team is, no one gets too excited or too down. It’s four games. There are always teams that start well … New Orleans started 12-1 and ended up being a No. 7 seed. How you start the season doesn’t matter, it’s a matter of getting better every game.”

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili

(On the 3-point shot falling for him)

“Well, Utah usually collapses the paint and they shift a lot. It’s one of those games that you start with the right foot and the shot went in. That’s what happened.”

(On Coach Popovich’s 800th win…)

“I don’t think the number itself is significant, the round number 800. It shows you something. It’s been 16 seasons of great teams. Coaching well, making it to the finals, and winning regular seasons. He’s one of the most respected coaches in the league. So, I’m very happy and very proud to be coached by him and calling him my only coach in my NBA career. It’s a great thing. I’m proud of him.”

Utah Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin:

(Opening statement)

“We just need to make sure we stay on par. We need to keep searching for where we are. We need to make sure we understand that we need to keep working to get better. It wasn’t a great effort tonight. We were right in the game. They (the Spurs) made a run in the second quarter, we missed some rotations and they made some 3-point shots. We kind of lost it from there. We just need to make sure the guys understand that it’s a long season. We need to stay together and work.”

(When asked if he was hopeful coming into this game after what happened last night)

“I felt good about it. In the first quarter we did a good job, we understood the game plan, and we made the right rotations. Then in the second quarter, we missed one or two right at the beginning. Then they went on a 10-2 run, then I think they hit about three 3-pointers. Then we started guessing a little bit.”

(When asked what went wrong in tonight’s game)

“Well (we missed) the rotations. We rotated to the right guys in the first quarter. Then, at the beginning of the second they penetrated a little and we went down to double the post then we came out of the double in the wrong spot. That left the shooters open in the corners. They did a good job of making the extra pass and they made their shots.”

Jazz forward-guard Josh Howard:

(on his progress with the team this year)

“I took a step forward. I think ultimately we just have to figure out a way to transfer that energy from home to the away games. I have to worry about myself ultimately but the team comes first as I want us to get these wins on the road as that’s what we need.”

(on how he can help this young team through his veteran experience)

“Lead by example as far as on the court. Through continuing to play hard I can continue to show them what I’m fighting through as far as coming back from an ACL surgery. It speaks a lot to come out here and do what I’m doing so hopefully they’ll follow my example.”

(on if he sees talent with this team)

“Yeah I’ve seen talent, I would not have come there if I didn’t see talent. There is talent between the young guys and the vets. We believe in Coach Corbin, so it’s a tough loss today but we have to get ready to turn the page and get ready for the next game.”

Jazz center Al Jefferson:

(on his injury)

“It will take about 24 hours for the medicine to kick in right at the right time. It got to a point where I was running on it really well before the game. That was when I made the decision I would play.”

(Is it an old injury?)

“Yes, it is. I had surgery on my ankle back in 2006. I was taking medicine then, but once it got better again, I stopped taking it. It was like ‘hey you forgot about me; and it flared up on me two nights ago. So that’s why I couldn’t play the other night.”

(About the win last night while he was recovering from his injury)

“They played hard and moved the ball. That was the thing that won the game for us, our defense. You can tell they were talking out there. They trusted each other on the defensive end.”

(The difference between tonight and last night’s game)

“The difference was the second quarter. San Antonio is a great team. They hit seven out of eight threes in that second quarter. With a great team like that, you can’t put your head down and you have to keep fighting. We are a better shooting team and we need to continue to trust our defense.”

(Where does Utah stand as a team after four games?)

“It is only our fourth game. We don’t need to panic. We have all the pieces that we need. We have a good bench and we have a lot of new guys so on offense that aren’t quite clicking yet. But we are getting shots, we are just not making them.”